Aaron Brooks has been cleared to wrestle at the Paris Olympics 2024 but what made his participation doubtful? A look at the NCAA icon's testing drama

The four-time NCAA Division I gold medalist Aaron Brooks is all set to wrestle in his first-ever Olympic games in Paris. This comes after the Maryland native was cleared of all the claims of his failed doping tests.

Reports from Pat Mineo state that it was at the U23 World Championships in Tirana last year when Brooks also clinched a gold medal from the 86kg category and had failed a doping test for Adderall (a drug used to treat hyperactivity disorder).

Owing to this, the 23-year-old faced a temporary warning during the US Olympic trials concluded last month where he booked his place for the Olympics, defeating the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist David Taylor. Moreover, the Maryland native was also in a state of uncertainty regarding his qualifications at the Olympics due to this testing saga.

However, as things stand, Aaron Brooks is cleared of all the accusations and will wrestle for the US national team from the 86kg category after numerous paper trails and with the help of his lawyers.

In a recent podcast with Justin Basch (Baschamania), the Maryland native opened up about the incidents that led to his acquisitions being cleared. The four-time NCAA gold medalist stated (at 41:40):

"So because I didn’t bring the prescription, it flagged as maybe he got it off the streets. Broo So, what I then had to go do was show that I was prescribed it. Get it to lawyers and then to whoever it was: WADA, USADA, whatever it is. And they just had to put it through the clearinghouse."

Brooks added:

"At first, I wasn’t. Because they had to accept that it was a prescription, talk to the doctors that gave it to me, just make sure it was legit."

During the podcast, Brooks also stated that he was booked for using Vyvanse and not Adderall, which was prescribed to him by his doctors during his schooling days to cope with academics and wrestling.

Aaron Brooks pays a visit to his former wrestling training center

Aaron Brooks (left) during the US Olympic Trials 2024

Aaron Brooks recently visited the youth wrestling camp at Hagerstown Police Athletic Complex in Maryland, where the 23-year-old had received the majority of his training from his father during his junior days.

Brooks, who recently booked his berth for the 2024 Paris Olympics, had a fun session with the kids of the complex and was also involved in a dodgeball match. Brooks' father, John, is currently the head coach of the camp.

Brooks joined in for a session as the lead instructor of the camp and shared some valuable insights with the aspiring young athletes.